Uncle Vanya
Play by Anton Chekhov
Translation by Annie Baker
Directed by Beth Lopes
Dramaturgy: Karli Jean Lonnquist & Elena Bisharat
Faculty mentor: Dr. Jocelyn L. Buckner
Portrait of Anton Chekhov
About this Site
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Welcome to the Dramaturgy website for Chapman University's 2025 production of Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, translated by Annie Baker and directed by Beth Lopes.
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This website includes links to all of the research the dramaturgy team has done for the show, including a timeline of events, a script breakdown and pronunciation guide, a section on the world of the play, a section on Chekhov, a section on the environment and ethical stewardship and info about the customs of the time period.
I can tolerate people chopping down a forest out of necessity, but why destroy all of them? The Russian forest is being decimated. Millions of trees perish, animals and birds have to look for a new place to live, rivers recede, this wonderful, sacred landscape is disappearing, and all on account of people like you who don't want to bend down and pick up their own fuel off the ground. Don't you agree? You have to be a barbarian to take that kind of beauty and burn it up in your stove. Man has been blessed with reason and creativity, but instead of progressing, he only knows how to ruin. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife is being displaced, the climate is changing, and every day the land becomes less fertile and more disgraceful.
- Astrov, Uncle Vanya (Annie Baker translation)